Communication security

The next revolution in space


The first time I suction-cupped a GPS receiver to my windshield, wires running down to an external antenna and a heavy Dell laptop, my father asked about the monthly cost of such a device. He was skeptical when I told him that navigation signals from space were a free service provided by the U.S. government.

Fifteen years on, most of us carry GPS in our pocket — though we call it our phone — and rely on satellites to the extent that Bill Gattle, the president of Harris’ Space and Intelligence Systems division, calls space-based communications the “dialtone of this generation.”

Gattle and I recently chatted about where the space industry is going in the next five or so years. Venture capitalists are investing big time in space startups. Established companies are employing more people for space projects as well, which he expects will “create an explosion of new ideas.”